CPP Global Holdings Ltd, a premium coachbuilding company based in Coventry, UK, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire the assets of the Spyker luxury sportscar company from Spyker Cars N.V. – the Dutch EURONEXT-listed holding company which currently operates the Spyker and Saab Automobile businesses.

CPP Global Holdings Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to buy the Spyker luxury sportscar business

Purchase price is 15 million Euros plus a 17 million Euros six-year earn-out

The purchase price would be 32 million Euros, 15 million Euros of which would be paid immediately upon the finalisation of the deal, with the remaining 17 million Euros to be paid over a six year ‘earn-out’ period.

CPP is a world-class British coachbuilding company with a workforce of 250 highly skilled automotive specialist designers, technicians and craftsmen. It has vast experience working with global luxury car brands, by adapting standard vehicles, or undertaking full production of ultra-low volume standalone models. Over the last 16 years, CPP founder and Managing Director, Brendan O’Toole, has grown the Coventry-based business continuously, and the partnership and support of Vladimir Antonov has seen this growth accelerate within the last two years. The Spyker acquisition is yet another milestone towards a world-class automotive specialist in Coventry, creating more jobs directly at CPP, and indirectly, through the wide range of automotive specialists based in the area.

CPP will structure Spyker’s assets into a new subsidiary company, to be based at CPP’s Coventry headquarters. CPP has produced chassis and body panels for Spyker since the brand’s re-introduction in 2000. In 2009, it signed an agreement with Spyker to undertake full vehicle production of the C8 Aileron and all future Spyker models at a new and dedicated facility in Coventry. Production of the C8 Aileron for customer deliveries is currently being ramped-up.

Vladimir Antonov, said: “Having created an enviable portfolio of premium, world-class automotive companies and brands over the past two years with CPP, we are convinced that Spyker will flourish within the CPP Group. We are delighted to be bringing more investment and job opportunities to Coventry, and we hope that this further cements its reputation as the heartland of the automotive industry in the UK.”

Brendan O’Toole, Managing Director of CPP Global Holdings Ltd, said: “This acquisition is very positive news for everyone connected to Spyker. We’re absolutely confident that independent ownership will enable us to rapidly progress an invigorated business plan, to which CPP is fully committed.

“The management of CPP is very excited about the acquisition of the Spyker sportscar business, and the brand is entering a period of major development,” continues O’Toole. “Production of the new Spyker flagship supercar, the C8 Aileron, is progressing well and we are ramping up production of customer cars at our new purpose-built facility in Coventry. We have well-developed plans to expand the product range further, and the future for the Spyker brand is incredibly exciting.”

The international rallying community is becoming increasingly excited as the first weekend of March is approaching – the newly established Red Bull Skoda team is going to have a premiere. The team around IRC Champion Juho Hanninen is going to make its debut as part of Red Bull Skoda, and Hanninen & Markkula will make their first-ever appearance in Mexico. The Mexico Rally is one of the most exciting and also one of the most challenging events of the entire S-WRC series. Juho Hanninen & Mikko Markkula are going to face strong international competition with a Skoda Fabia S2000. Their team colleagues, Hermann Gassner jr. & Katharina Wustenhagen, are going to appear at the following event in Jordan.

The gravel event in the surroundings of Leon is indeed difficult, because the stages take place at high altitudes and the air temperatures are high as well, and so the race is going to be a test of endurance for both the cars and the drivers. The biggest portion is going to take place in Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato that offer a beautiful mix of mountain-peak sceneries and fast stretches in open valleys. The highly competitive field of drivers will have to cope with total of 22 stages (365 km) and more than a thousand kilometres of transfers.

Juho Hanninen underlines the importance of the team’s appearance in the S-WRC series: “Our appearance in S-WRC is a big challenge for the whole team. We have high ambitions, i.e. we want to be among the leaders of the field, and so the start of the season is extremely important. The competition is going to be strong, but we are prepared well. The reality will show where we stand in comparison with the other teams.”

Head of the team Raimund Baumschlager adds: “The Mexico Rally is going to be no fun ride, but we are prepared for that. We have top-class resources, state-of-the-art technology and – thanks to the massive support we are getting from the Skoda Motorsport (factory team) – we also have Juho Hanninen, one of the best drivers on gravel these days. I believe that our position in the final rankings will be high“.

Hermann Gassner jr.: “We are going to do some more testing to make good use of the time remaining until the Jordan Rally – after all, the car is new to me. The appearance in S-WRC is a big step forward, it is the first time that we will be part of an international series. The goal is to gain as much experience as possible and gradually climb up to the top of the field“.

As for Red Bull Skoda, the Jordan Rally will only see Hermann Gassner. The events planned for both of the drivers include Sardinia, Greece, Finland, Germany, France and Spain.

Sorry Gran Turismo 5 years in the making… you’ve really been out done now! With each new video, NFS keeps upping the ante but now have the final punch in the face. Lucky for the PS3 gamers, it will be available for them as well. Just watch as the video takes us from real video footage to actual game play. Simply amazing. We will also have a true helmet cam from inside, rather than on top or at the windshield. March is going to be a great month for game releases but March 29th, will be awesome!

Racing is exhausting. Racing is violent. Racing is fluid. Racing is not muted, static or uninspiring. When you take to the track SHIFT 2 Unleashed for the first time, you’ll feel a rush you’ve never felt before in another racing game.

Top racecar drivers, including Tommy Milner, Edward Sandstrom and drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. all spent a great deal of time with the team at Slightly Mad Studios, helping make SHIFT 2 Unleashed the most realistic racing game you’ll ever play.

If you wanted an authentic racing experience, look no further than SHIFT 2 Unleashed. The new ‘helmet cam’ view puts you inside the heads of the best racecar drivers, who are always plotting their next move on the track, and drifters, who need to avoid walls at all costs.

As you’ll see in this video, no detail was too minute, nothing was left to chance and every possible element of real racing was covered during the development of SHIFT 2 Unleashed. Take the most realistic racing game on the planet for a spin on March 29 and you’ll see what we mean. SHIFT 2 Unleashed is real racing.

In its presentation of the new Golf Cabriolet at the 81st Geneva International Motor Show, Volkswagen is writing a new chapter of a global success story. The four-seater has an innovative soft top with an electro-hydraulic drive that opens the Golf’s top in just 9.5 seconds.

The new Volkswagen’s styling follows that of its hard-top three-door counterpart, but it shows a high level of independence with a new rear section, lower profile roof line and more swept-back angle of its front windscreen frame. The convertible’s image is especially dynamic when ordered with optional bi-xenon headlights. Always a standard feature: the LED rear lights like those of the GTI. Other standard safety features offering peace of mind are the automatically deploying roll-over bar, front airbags, side head/thorax airbags, knee airbag for the driver and ESP.

The new Golf is one of the quietest convertibles today. Its soothing quietness is attributable to the new soft top that was optimised in specific ways. It also has a standard hydraulic drive that opens the Golf’s top extremely quickly. The top can also be opened or closed during driving at speeds of up to 30 km/h.

Ideal for cruising with a convertible are the six turbocharged direct-injection engines whose power outputs range from 77 kW / 105 PS to 155 kW / 210 PS. Four of the petrol engines (TSI) and one diesel (TDI) are available with the DSG dual-clutch gearbox; while three of the engines are available with energy-saving BlueMotion Technology. Just how efficiently the new Golf Cabriolet handles fuel is illustrated by the 1.6 TDI with 105 PS and BlueMotion Technology: It only consumes 4.4 l/100 km (equivalent to 117 g/km CO2).

In Germany, advance sales begin tomorrow with prices starting at 23.625,- Euros. Essentially, all of the features offered in the classic, hard top Golf are also available in the new Golf Cabriolet. The only feature that will definitely not be offered is a sunroof …